Denkereien

So things are grinding along.

I went into Deutsche Post today and inquired into sending stuff back. Not as expensive as I thought, but still a fair chunk of change. I think I could've done without half the stuff I have to send back. "Na ja," as the Germans say. I need to go to Deutsche Post again tomorrow and pick up boxes for all the stuff, then start sending 'er back. I tell ya, the last five weeks in this place is gonna seem like a gulag!

In addition to that I'm not making much headway on my 'leaving Germany checklist', though this week I get some questions answered and next week I can start chopping away at it.

I've been to at least two events that the Carl-Schurz-Haus has put on, and I wonder why I never really gave that place a chance. The Carl-Schurz-Haus is the American cultural center here in Freiburg, and they put on some really neat stuff. I went to their 4th of July party at the Ganter brewery, and I went to see a play they put on (all in English, though some of the German actors needed to work on their accents... I guess I can't talk, what with mein starker kanadischer Akzent). I think I'll pop-by tomorrow or Wednesday and see more what they're about. They're right next to Deutsche Post, so it wont be that far out of my way.

Speaking of Akzente, I want this message to go out to all Germans reading this: Just because I don't hear you, doesn't mean I don't understand you.

It's no secret that a pet-peeve of mine that has developed since being here is when Germans hear my Akzent and continue the rest of the conversation in English, when I'm trying to have a decent talk auf Deutsch. Lately, my German's gotten much better so that doesn't happen alot, however sometimes I'll not hear a German, and ask them to repeat themselves. They then speak to me in English like I'm a fool. If they just repeated themselves a little louder in German, I'd be able to keep my dignity, and they can just go on doing their natural German thing.

As the weeks go by, I begin to dread going back to Canada. Well, not really. I begin to dread leaving Germany, but at the same time extremely excited to go to the States before coming home. I've gotten used to Germany, and while I'd miss my friends and family, I'm at a point where I can call this place my home, and in five weeks I'll be yanked out of it, and thrown into the air for nine hours before landing down on hard terra firma. I'm going to miss going to the Volksbank instead of Vancity, and going shopping at Edeka or Rewe, or Schlecker. I'm going to miss running across the street before showering or brushing my teeth just to get some brötchen (buns) fresh out of the baker's oven for breakfast. I'm going to miss drinking beer on the streets, or on the streetcar as I roll into downtown where school, food, and friends are usually found.

I think most of all I'll miss two things: the friends I've made here, and the language. I'll miss hearing German spoken everywhere I go, and trying to decipher it. I'm worried that once I get back to the English speaking world, I'm going to take communication for granted, as I have before I came here. I'm also worried I'll lose my German, but I have enough books to last me awhile, I guess.

I'll miss the friends I've made here. For the last year the Canadians have been each others friends and family, and as soon as next week, two of them are leaving, and that's just the beginning. Not only that, but I've started to really befriend some of the Americans and now they too are starting to leave. I have some German friends, but not as many as Canadian or American. They'll stay here, so it's not as if they're going away, instead I am. I'll see them 'till the bitter end, when I step on that train to go to Frankfurt.

Not only friends, but the Germans I interact with on a daily basis. I don't know where the service industry went in North America, but despite the things like bagging your own groceries, and the cashiers sitting down instead of standing at your beck and call, the service industry here is above and beyond. I've always dreaded going into the post office in Canada and America, because they're rude buffoons, while here, they're friendly, personable without being intrusive, and downright pleasant to deal with.

Well, I'm rambling. I should save some stuff for tomorrow.

Tschüss!